The first case, an 8-month old infant boy from Chrey Korng Village, near Phnom Pehn developed symptoms on January 8th, 2013 and H5N1 was confirmed by the Institut Pasuerur du Cambodge on January 22nd. The infant has recovered, and had a history of coming in contact with poultry prior to becoming sick.

The second case, a 15-year-old girl from Snao Village, Takeo Province fell ill on January 11th, and was diagnosed with H5N1 on January 22nd. She was hospitalized on the 17th, and despite intensive care, died on the 21st. The statement indicates there have been recent poultry deaths in the village and the girl helped to prepare food.

The third case, a 35-year-old man from Trapeang Sla Village, Kampon Pseu was diagnosed on the 23rd, after falling ill on the 13th of January. Once again, there are reports of sick poultry in his village and he participated in the preparation of food.

So it appears that all three of these cases, while occurring at approximately the same time, are not epidemiologically linked.

The fact that these three cases emanated from three separate locations is reassuring in that there appears to be no evidence of community spread of the virus among humans.

By the same token, the fact that the virus has been acquired by humans in three different places within the same couple of weeks speaks to how widespread the virus must be in poultry.